Gerund versus Verbal noun
Hello, everyone!
The gerund can be easily confused with the verbal noun. In some cases it is impossible to tell whether you are dealing with a gerund or with a verbal noun. What is the way I can distinguish between the gerund and the verbal noun in most cases?
Thank you very much!
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Answers · 2
0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbal_noun
Gerund is a subcategory of verbal nouns.
0
I'll give it a try.
Off the top of my head I'd say:
The Gerund:
1 has tense and voice forms, so the forms ‘being done’, ‘having done’, ‘having been done’ cannot be nouns.
2 can take a direct object; so an ‘-ing’ form followed by a direct object (reading a letter) cannot be a noun.
3 can be modified by an adverb; so an ‘-ing’ form modified by an adverb (reading fast) cannot be a noun.
4 can be part of an aspective verbal predicate; so an ‘-ing’ form following the verbs ‘begin’, ‘stop’ ‘go on’, ‘keep’, ‘continue’ are gerunds.
The Verbal noun:
1 can be used in the plural;
2 can have an article;
3 can be followed by a prepositional phrase in an attributive function;
4 can be modified by an adjective, a demonstrative pronoun or an indefinite pronoun.
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